Guam is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. Guam is located three to five hours from Asia countries such as Japan, Korea, Phillipines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and seven hours southwest from Hawaii often being called “Where America’s Day Begins” and “America in Asia”.

The potential for success is great and is why Guam is the place for your future investments. We stand ready to support your business endeavors through government program offerings that include financial assistance, tax incentive opportunities, public finance services and real property development and management offered through the Guam Economic Development Authority (GEDA).

The primary mission of the Guam Economic Development Authority is to “develop a sound and sustainable economy through innovative programs that preserve and promote local culture, economic opportunities and quality of life.”

Tourism

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Visitor Industry:

Guam has developed into a major tourist destination, an industry that provides the bulk of the island’s non-government income. Approximately 1.3 million tourists arrive in Guam each year generating approximately $1.4 billion revenues with visitors from Japan continuing to provide 71% of the tourist market. Although the number of Guam’s visitors fell slightly after several disastrous world events, visitor arrivals have been steadily increasing.

Guam Visitor Arrivals 2008-2015

2008: 1,141,779

2009: 1,053,248

2010: 1,197,408

2011: 1,159,778

2012: 1,308,035

2013: 1,334,497

2015: 1,409,033

Tourism Highlights

Tourism has represented the primary source of income for Guam’s economy for over twenty-five years. Visitor arrivals rose to over 1,000,000 travelers for the first time in 1994 and have remained near or above that level ever since. Guam’s top four visitor markets include Japan, South Korea, U.S./Hawaii and Taiwan. The great majority of visitors to Guam originate from Japan, as Guam is one of only four markets worldwide that attracts nearly one million Japanese tourists per year. In Fiscal Year 2012, Japan accounted for approximately 71.5% of visitors to Guam, with approximately 50.3% of Japanese visitors originating from the Kanto (Tokyo) region. In Fiscal Year 2012, Guam’s next largest tourist markets were South Korea (13.0%), the U.S./Hawaii (5.1%), Taiwan (3.9%), and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (“CNMI”) (1.4%). Total civilian air arrivals increased approximately 5.9% between Fiscal Year 2011 and Fiscal Year 2012.

In November 2009, the U.S. updated its policies relating to the visa waiver program available for travel to Guam for tourism or business. The current program allows visitors holding passports from Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and the United Kingdom to visit Guam and/or CNMI without a visa for a period of up to 45 days.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security granted parole authority for Russia commencing on January 15, 2012, allowing visa waivers for Russian visitors to Guam. Visitor arrivals from Russia in Fiscal Year 2012 numbered 2,931 versus 528 in Fiscal Year 2011, an increase of 455%.

Tourism 2020 Goals

Tourism 2020 is a development plan to help shape Guam’s future, with eight core objectives that are needed in order for Destination Guam to thrive in a competitive global environment. Tourism 2020 is an action-oriented, goal-driven plan with specific and measurable tasks, the completion of which will propel the island forward.

Tourism 2020 Vision for Guam: A world class, first-tier resort destination of choice, offering a U.S. island paradise with stunning ocean vistas, for two million business and leisure visitors from across the region with accommodations and activities ranging from value to five-star luxury — all in a safe, clean, family-friendly environment set amidst a unique 4,000-year old culture.